Umbrella Chronicals
by 0738
Summary: A story detailing the events that occurred at the Spencer Mansion in the Arklay Mountains up until the S.T.A.R.S. interference. It's rated 'M' now, because there will be violence and swearing later on.
1. Chapter 1

John Howe sat at his desk comparing notes. He scribbled furiously, since this report was nearly overdue - it wasn't even typed yet! How could someone who remembered pass codes and experimental details so well, forget to report his findings? He glanced at the photo on his desk. The gorgeous woman with the dark hair that framed her pale, delicate face smiled back at him.

"Ada…" he grinned. The sooner he finished his report, the sooner he could give her a call. How he missed her. When he talked to her, it was as if his troubles disappeared. He could tell her anything. John couldn't wait, so he hastily grabbed his notes and ran to the computer so he could finish up his work.

"I've completed my report and assess-"

"Very well. Just place it on the desk and I'll go over it later. I'm in a rush. I'm due to meet Paul Saunders at the new lab underneath the city." William Birkin barked.

"You won't take it and read it on the train ride into the city?" John asked. William glanced over at him.

"Has there been much progress?"

"Um, not quite much, but it's worth a look-see. I assume you'll be significantly surprised, and perhaps you can further your own research this evening with Paul." John replied.

"I'll glance at it later." William replied briskly, shoving the papers in his briefcase.

"Oh, alright." John replied, feeling dejected. He had rushed all that work, just to see it shoved in a briefcase without a second though. He decided to cheer himself up with a call to his dearest Ada. She always managed to cheer him up and get his mind off the more depressing part of work. He was also amazed how she was the first girlfriend he had that was actually interested in his work, didn't just tune him out or tell him she didn't want to hear it.

Since John had finished his work and research for the evening, there was nothing left to do but tidy up his workspace and laboratory. If William Birkin had come in anytime during the night or next morning, and saw it left in shambles, he'd never hear the end of it. William Birkin prided himself in his neatness and organization, and expected those under him to follow his example. Besides, if someone left their workspace a mess, anyone could steal their work, or something could be misplaced. If any research were misplaced, you were responsible and reprimanded accordingly. Umbrella did not play games when it came to viral research, and John could understand why. If it were sold on the black market, forget about it. Their own research could be leaked out and used against them. He shuddered at the thought of being infected with his research. It was true that Umbrella had been using humans for testing, but these were runaways, or homeless. No one noticed them missing. They usually made good test subjects, too, because they didn't complain as long as they were warm and fed. For all they knew, they were being injected with vaccines for the common cold and influenza.

"Shut up!" Glenn Palmer screeched at the barking canines as he finished his sandwich and contemplated his next move.

"They get pretty annoying sometimes, eh?" Scott inquired, grinning and glancing over at the dogs.

"Yeah, it's because they haven't eaten yet, but I can't feed them 'til seven."

"Why?"

"The rules - and you know what happens when you break the rules here," Glenn replied.

"Hah! Tell me about it," Scott mumbled, as he took Glenn's queen.

"Dammit!" Glenn shouted as the dogs started barking again. "What time is it?" he asked, sounding rather pissed-off.

"Uh … five to seven." Scott replied, studying the watch on his wrist. "Well, now four to seven."

"Eh, four minutes ahead of schedule won't kill them. I can't stand listening to the beasts anymore. They're driving me insane." Glenn said, getting up. He pushed his chair in and headed towards the cupboard, then turned around and studied the chessboard.

"What on earth are you doing?" Scott asked.

"Studyin' the chessboard. I remember what it looks like, so I'll know if you cheated." Glenn replied. Scott rolled his eyes and pulled out a pack of smokes.

"You're insane." he replied, placing a stick in his mouth and fishing his pockets for a lighter. "Hey, you have a lighter anywhere? I misplaced mine, I think."

"You always misplace yours." Glenn mumbled, taking a lighter from his drawer and throwing it to Scott. Glenn then took out a huge bag of dog kibbles and measured them and dumped the measured amounts into their respective bowls.

"You gotta measure that stuff?" Scott asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Don't know why. They have to have a cup and a half of kibble, and half a can of the meat. Well, except for Toby. He gets the most. No idea why, but it's an easy job." Glenn replied, dumping another cup of kibble into the bowl.

"If you like feeding dogs, then cleaning up their shit, sure." Scott added, taking a long drag of the cigarette. Glenn faced him and flipped him off.

"Help me carry these bowls out to the bastards. I don't trust you alone with that chessboard." Scott laughed, put out his cigarette and got up to help Glenn.

When they got outside with the bowls, Scott froze.

"What the hell you been feeding these dogs! Steroids!"

"No. Just kibbles and canned food."

"They're huge!" Scott exclaimed.

"I know. They're still growin', I guess."

"You idiot, even I can tell they're fully grown. They look like fuckin' monsters! What are they, 100 pounds of muscle? Shit! Imagine getting mauled by one of these guys! They didn't look this big when I was here last week!" Glenn shrugged at this remark.

"I don't know. I see them everyday, at all hours of the day. I guess I don't really notice too much of a difference." Scott shook his head.

"I'm afraid to ask which one's Toby."

"Ah, gotta keep Toby separated when they eat. He's very protective of his food, and he bit another dog so hard the other day, I saw the muscle. Boy, did my ass get chewed for that one." Glenn kept talking, but Scott wasn't listening. There was no way these dogs could get this thick in only a matter of days. Scott was suddenly jerked from his thoughts by Glenn yelling his name.

"Huh? Wha?"

"You gonna feed the dogs or stand there all day and listen to them bark at you?" Glenn asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Scott bent down and put the bowls down in front of the dogs. They scarfed it down like they had never eaten before.

"Come on, we have a few more bowls to bring out, and we can finish the chess game." Glenn added.

"Yeah, sure. Oh! Don't forget! Alias is coming here tomorrow, and so is Steve from research to play poker. You have money to lose?" Scott said.

"Haha - yeah, I have money, but you're the one who's gonna lose money. You, Alias and Steve." Glenn replied.

"We'll see, we'll see. Well, I have to get back, I'll see you tomorrow around seven."

"Yeah, sure. You can help me feed the dogs before the game, that way they can go to sleep and shut up." Scott nodded, got his jacket and left.

"Martin, I miss you," the voice on the phone pleaded.

"I miss you, too, sweetheart," Martin Crackhorn replied, "but we've had a breakthrough-"

"I wish you'd stop bringing up work. It's as if you're married to your job and not me," she huffed.

"Alma…"

"No, don't Alma me. I miss you. It's so lonely here. What's the point of having a house this big when there's no one to share it with?"

"Invite some friends over." Martin replied, trying to sound funny.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Alma replied, sarcastically, not having any of it.

"Sweetie, I'm getting vacation time in a while. It's the eighth of May today, right?" he asked.

"Right." she replied.

"Well, I'll take my vacation time on May 12th. We can spend out anniversary together. I'll take you to Europe. France. Paris, wherever you want."

"Really?" Alma asked, her spirits lifting.

"Promise. Tomorrow you can go into town, look at travel brochures and book flights. We can go wherever you want. I'll take two weeks off for you. Money's no object."

"Martin, you spoil me!" She giggled on the other end. Martin grinned to himself. He was happy when she was happy.

"Well, darling, I'll have to let you go now. It's getting late, and I have work to do in the morning. At least you can get up and figure out where we're going in a few days."

"Sure, Martin. Oh my God, I'm so excited! Paris - would you really want to go to Paris!" she asked, excitedly.

"Consider it my anniversary gift to you, sweetheart. Only, you pick the place and I'll pay."

"Martin, I love you!" she gushed.

"I love you, too, sweetie. Have a good night." Martin hung up the phone and rubbed his temples. He just couldn't wait until he got that vacation. He loved his job and all, but sometimes it was just a little too much.


	2. Chapter 2

Jon Toleman shifted nervously as he waited for Glenn to show up."Where the hell is this guy?" he muttered to himself, as he kicked at the dirt. Jon paced for a few more minutes before he heard someone's boots thumping his way. "Shit, if it's a guard, I'm fucked."  
"Jon, sorry I'm late." Glenn whispered. Jon felt a sigh of release escape him. "What'd you need me to do?" Glenn asked.  
"Well, you read my note, right?" John asked cautiously.  
"Of course I did. Destroyed it, too."  
"Good. Well, I need to you place this on the most dangerous dog you have," Jon said as be placed something in Glenn's hand, "I know they take kindly to you, being as you take care of them and all-"  
"The hell's this?" Glenn asked, inspecting it.  
"...a dog collar." Jon replied.  
"No shit. I could figure that much by looking at it." Glenn replied in a sarcastic tone.  
"Well, I can't really tell you - but if you ask no questions, I can get you that _item_ you need, no questions asked-"  
"Ok, ok. Done deal."  
"You say nothing, I say nothing. Our dirty little secret, eh, old boy?" Jon said as he grinned. Glenn nodded and agreed, then spoke.  
"Oh - we're playin' some poker tonight. Wanna come down? Scott, Alias and Steve'll be there. If you come, the winnings could be bigger."  
"Nah, I'm not much for gambling. I like to keep my money. Thanks for the offer, though." Jon replied.  
"Ah, you're a pussy, Jon. You don't know how to live." Glen said, grinning like a cheshire cat.  
"If gambing's your idea of living, boy, have you got a sad life." Jon retorted, chuckling to himself.  
"Ahhh, shut up." Glenn replied hastily, as he turned to leave. Jon laughed at Glenn and headed his own way.

Paul Saunders was feeling a bit dejected as he was getting settled back in his room. William Birkin was so hard to impress. Just because Paul was one step under William on the corporate ladder, it didn't mean William needed to be so snarky.

"Maybe he needs to get laid." Paul muttered to himself, then grinned. "Yeah, William needs a good fuck. Annette, too. Both are so damned uptight." He thought to himself as he put his jacket away. "The hell's the point of being married if you're never together?" Then his thoughts drifted to his fiance, Linda. They hadn't chosen a wedding date yet, but he knew when they got married, she was going to come first, definitely. And he wasn't going to work the insane hours William and Annette did, either. All that traveling between the mansion and Raccoon wouldn't cut it, even for more pay. Yeah, that's why he'd never be on the same level as William. He wasn't going to sacrifice his life for work. "Wait, doesn't he have a kid?" Paul said aloud, then laughed. "You're going crazy, old boy, talking to yourself, about your co-workers, no doubt." He sighed. At least Birkin would work in the labs in the city now that they contained all the necessary things he'd need. Paul would be the go between, trading data and the likes. "Good riddance." he thought, then fell asleep.

Henry Sarton measured Plant 42 and recorded his findings in his research journal. He had the most boring job in the world. He had gone to college, studied hard, only to measure the length of a plant on a day-to-day basis. Henry sighed as he finished. At least the money was good.

"Should have opened a nursery. At least it'd be a bit more colorful with lilies and daisies, not just this green shit." he mumbled as he gathered his things so he could enter data into the computer. He met up with John Howe, who seemed to be finishing up some work.

"Hey." John said, glancing at Henry.  
"Hey." Henry grunted back.  
"Bad mood?" John grinned.  
"If you had my job, of course." Henry grunted. "What're you excited about?"  
"We've had a breakthrough. A chimera - at least that's what we're calling it for now."  
"Oh really? Tell me about it." Henry replied, sitting next to John and setting his belongings down.  
"Well, I was going through some old files a bit back, and came across some notes I scribbled when I arrived here last year. Well, remember the woman - the one everyone labeled a failure, but her body still managed to consume whatever was injected into her?" John asked excitedly.  
"Uh huh…" Henry droned.  
"Well, she started ripping people's faces off and wearing them as her own - so, before they destroyed her, I got the idea to extract some DNA and blood from her, so maybe I could come up with something different, and the chimera is so far our first successful attempt!" John exclaimed. Henry looked shocked, then spoke,  
"So, the chimera's have a little bit of everything in them?" John shook his head.  
"No, well, sort of. We had to alter the DNA slightly. We had to eradicate most of the G-virus, because they kept dying. Their DNA wasn't really compatible with the G-virus."  
"I do hope they've been disposed of properly." Henry replied.  
"No need to. We can still use the test subjects for other things. Who knew worthless people really did have some worth to them?" John laughed.  
"You're so fucked up." Henry chuckled. "Then again, hey, if it's given to you, make use of it. Then again, if any scientific ethics committees got wind of this-"  
"Oh, they won't. Umbrella'll be sure of that." John winked.

"Well boys, I thought that was an excellent game!" Steve grinned, counting his money. Glenn, Alias and Scott glared at him. Steve glanced at his watch and gasped. "Shit! I've a presentation in the morning! I must be off, boys!" and he quickly ran out of the room, hoarding the money.

"Fag." Alias muttered, getting up and smashing his cigarette in the ashtray.  
"He was cheating. I know it." Glenn added, getting up, and cleaning up some of the cards.  
"I agree. He cleaned us out!" Scott said, angrily.  
"All I'm left with is seventy-five cents." Glenn interjected.  
"At least you have something. The moths are going to make a home in my wallet again." Alias said, pulling out another pack of cigarettes and lighting a new one. He then offered Scott and Glenn a cigarette, but both declined. "I hope he sleeps in and pisses himself for being late for his 'pree-zen-tay-shun'." Alias added, mimicking Steve. Scott and Glenn laughed at him.  
"Probably will. It's quarter past one." Glenn replied, then said, "Well, I had fun, but I need to get up early and feed the beasts. I'm also being assigned yet another animal to take care of in the morning. I feel like a fuckin' zoo keeper."  
"Haha. I'll stop by tomorrow for chess around lunch, what do you say?" Scott asked.  
"Sure. Alias, you comin' too?" Glenn asked the other man, who just sat there puffing in the cigarette.  
"Nah. I have some shit to do. And my wife's been nagging that I don't call home, so I'm gonna get on that." Glenn nodded and bid Scott and Alias farewell. He walked over to his bed, pulled the sheets out, and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

"The hell is this…?" Glenn asked, blinking his eyes and absorbing the image before him. Martin Crackhorn grinned.  
"Our newest specimen. He hasn't been named yet, though."  
"Can you name something like that?" Glenn asked and Martin rolled his eyes at the remark.  
"ANYWAY - you need to feed it live animals. We're getting a shipment of farm pigs, so you'll be in charge of those, and of feeding this one." Glenn cursed under his breath. More animals to take care of. He really was a zoo keeper.  
"When are the pigs coming in?" he asked. Martin glanced at his watch.  
"Half an hour. Get a pen ready." Glenn mentally smacked himself.  
"_Half an hour. Half an hour for what? For shit!_" he thought to himself.

Martin and John were chatting in the lounge. Both were excited at the possibilities their new creation would bring. They were creating a new species for the world to behold. Before you'd know it, cloning would be a thing of the past. Everyone would forget cloning, and they'd be looking to create new species, elite species. They could eradicate disease and weakness, while giving birth to a new, yet, stronger generation of things to come.

Henry entered the lounge where Martin and John were seated, and sat down and listened as they chatted excitedly about their organism. After is all sunk in, Henry felt a pang of jealousy. He studied to become a botanist. All his life he was fascinated by plants and foliage, yet it turned out to be the most boring profession. He had also made the least progress, and he felt that if something spectacular hadn't occurred soon, he'd lose his job. Martin and John invited him to the bar to share drinks. Henry declined, stating he had work to complete. Martin managed to persuade him to stay for one drink, and one turned into two, then three, then four.

Eventually the three of them wandered over to the piano, and Henry playing some songs, slightly off key, while John and Martin sang, although they forgot the majority of the words.

"That …. Wash byoo-tee-full." John said, taking another shot of Tequila. Martin could barely stand, and he took a shot after John.  
"Want some?" Martin asked, handing a half full shot glass to Henry, spilling some liquor on him. Henry shook his head.  
"I can't, 'cos if I drink too much, I won't be able to play piano."  
"Hear, hear!" John shouted, taking a swig from the bottle.  
"Shit….!" Martin slurred.  
"Yeah?" John asked, laughing.  
"It's late. We're … haha … we're gonna be in deep shit in the … the … in the morning." Henry started cracking up.  
"I can't fuckin' stand!" he yelled, laughing some more. John stood up, and stumbled forward.

"Then you …. Stay here tonight. get you in the morning … or something." Martin started to laugh some more, and Henry fell face first on the ivory piano keys, knocked out. John started cackling like a maniac, and wandered out the room, falling asleep on one of the couches down the hall. Martin followed suit. He didn't think he could make it any farther.


End file.
